


not a word

by softuchiha



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Genin Era, Haruno Sakura-centric, Implied Relationships, One Shot, Soulmate AU, Soulmates, the first word your soulmate tells you is on your wrist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-03 23:19:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10977483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softuchiha/pseuds/softuchiha
Summary: Everyone has their soulmate's first words written on their wrist. When Sasuke has it and Sakura doesn't, she can't help but wonder what's wrong with her.





	not a word

A soulmate is, by definition, someone who you love unconditionally, and that is supposed to love you back. Since Sakura had always been a smart little girl, that’s what her parents told her when she was five. Of course, at that time, she didn’t understand completely the concept of soulmates, she only knew that they existed.

When she was ten, she asked about it again. Her mother and father told her that they were soulmates and that they were destined to be together.

“So that means everyone has a soulmate?” She’d asked, her eyes shining brightly.

“Yes, I guess so,” her mother answered, smiling at her.

She had also found out that the first words soulmates say to each other are written on their wrists. She knew, but she checked again just to be sure, that there were no words on her wrist. Or on any part of her body, for that matter.

“Why I don’t have any words on my wrist?” She questioned her mom, extremely disappointed.

“Well, maybe because you’re not ready yet, honey,” her mother patiently explained. “Sometimes the words appear after a while, you know. I didn’t get mine until I was twelve.”

Sakura wasn’t satisfied, but she waited.

Nothing changed when she turned twelve.

 _What if I don’t have a soulmate?_ Sakura thought once when she was alone in her room. _What if I don’t get a special someone like everyone else? What if there’s something wrong with me?_

 

Everybody knew Sakura had a crush on her teammate, Sasuke. However, she had developed very strong feelings for him, so it was definitely not just a crush anymore. The fact that Sasuke might not be her soulmate was heartbreaking. To think that she might end up with someone else ― or even alone ― was just devastating.

One day, after training with Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura abruptly asked him:

“Sasuke-kun,” she started, her voice low, but he could still hear her. When he looked at her, she continued, “do you have a soulmate?”

She had thought about asking him that question before, but she never had the guts to do it.

Sasuke’s face was blank. She had no idea what would come out of his mouth. Maybe a ‘no’. Probably nothing. Yeah, nothing was more like it. He was really good at ignoring questions he didn’t want to answer.

But he surprised her with a simple “Yes.”

She just nodded, not really sure of what to say next.

 

“Naruto!” Sakura called when she entered Ichikaru’s and saw her friend eating like he usually did.

“Hey, Sakura-chan!” He looked at her smiling. “What’s up?”

“What’s your soulmate word?” She asked like it was just another casual question.

Naruto kept looking at her for a few seconds, confused. But when he understood, he rolled up his sleeve and showed her his wrist.

It said ‘Naruto-kun!’

Sakura laughed.

“What? That’s not funny!” He whined, rolling his eyes. “Anyways, what’s yours?”

Sakura suddenly stopped laughing. “I don’t have one,” she admitted quietly.

“Wow, I’m sorry, Sakura-chan.”

Before she could reply, someone else spoke. “Did something happen?” Sasuke appeared in their sight, his face slightly worried.

“Not really, but Sakura-chan is sad because she doesn’t have a soulmate word,” Naruto told him when he sat next to Sakura.

Sasuke looked at her.

“I’m not sad!” She protested.

“But you’re not happy either,” Naruto observed.

“Whatever,” she said, glancing over at Sasuke, who was still looking at her. She quickly turned to Naruto. “This soulmate thing is kind of stupid when you think about it. It doesn’t matter.”

_Because Sasuke-kun already has one. And it’s not me._

 

Sakura was terrified. She was supposed to be a fearless kunoichi, but, apparently, she wasn’t brave or strong enough. They were on a mission that should be low ranked, but somehow, just like their first real mission, it turned dangerous. And she got lost in the forest. She had no clue where her sensei and teammates were. So she stayed hidden. Her heart racing, her breathing uneven, her hands shaking.

 _It's going to be okay_ , she kept telling herself. _They’ll find me._

Except they didn’t.

The enemy, a nukenin from Suna, did.

“Well, someone’s been hiding from me, huh?” He laughed as he approached her, with a kunai in his right hand. “You don’t have to, anymore, little girl, because soon you’ll be dead.”

She couldn’t run, her legs were stuck. It was like he had put a genjutsu on her. But he didn’t because she would’ve known otherwise. _She_ was the one betraying herself. And when she saw the kunai coming right at her, she screamed as loud as she could.

 _“Sakura!”_ Sasuke yelled her name, but he was late. The kunai was already buried on her shoulder.

She was in so much pain she didn’t realize what happened next. She shut down her eyes, trying hard not to cry.

When she opened them again, everything was quiet. A hand was placed on her other shoulder and someone was talking to her. Her vision was blurry, but after blinking a few times, she could see that Sasuke was right in front of her.

“Besides that kunai on your shoulder, are you okay?” He looked worried. “Sakura!” He called, impatient as usual.

“I’m… It hurts.” She complained. “But… I’ll be fine,” she managed to say.

He nodded. “I’m going to take it out. It’s going to hurt even more, so grab something and hold it tight.”

She reached for his hand, and when he didn’t argue, her grip tightened.

He didn’t warn her, so when the kunai was taken away, she screamed like hell.

“It’s out,” he told her, using his own kunai to cut a piece of his shirt to stop the bleeding.

“It’s not too deep,” he mentioned, taking a step back. “We should go back to where Naruto and Kakashi are.”

Sakura nodded, walking slowly behind him. She didn’t notice, but he had stopped, and when she got next to him, he put one arm around her waist and her good one over his shoulder.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

They kept going through the forest. The only sound was the singing of the birds around the area. That is until Sakura finally decided to start conversation.

“I thought I was going to die,” she spoke with difficulty. She knew he wouldn’t say anything so she continued, “I was so scared I couldn’t do anything. I’m so weak.” She looked down, her fist clenching as she said the words, “I’m not as good as you guys. I’m not even close.” Tears started rolling down her cheek. “If you hadn’t come… I would be dead by now. I would’ve died… alone.” She bit her lower lip, trying to hold back the tears that were falling. “I know it’s stupid but,” she paused, sniffing. “I would’ve died without the chance of finding out if I have a soulmate or not. Which I probably don’t, because I don’t even have a word on my―”

“Sakura,” Sasuke interrupted her and stopped walking. When he had her full attention he just sighed. “‘Hn’ isn’t really a word.”

Sakura just stared at him, confusion spread all over her face.

“What do you mean?” She managed to ask.

“You don’t have a word on your wrist because ‘Hn’ isn’t one. It’s just a sound.” He repeated, calmly staring at her.

It took her some time, but she realized what he was trying to tell her.

 _She was five and she was looking for Ino, but she couldn’t seem to find her friend anywhere._ What if Ino had left the village?,  _she thought to herself. That would be awful because Ino was her only friend. And if Ino wasn’t there, that meant she would have to play alone._

_She was about to turn to go back home when she saw a dark haired boy coming her way. He was so incredibly handsome that she just stopped, looking at him. He wasn’t looking back, but she didn’t care. At least he wouldn’t catch her gazing at him._

_But when he passed by, she turned back to see him._

_“Hey!” She said loud enough for him to hear. He quickly turned to face her. She smiled. “What’s your name?” She didn’t give him the chance to answer and immediately added, “I’m Sakura.”_

_The only thing he answered was “Hn.”_

When she came back to reality, Sasuke was taking off one of his cuffs. He held his arm high so she could see the words written on his wrist. _Hey! What’s your name? I’m Sakura._

She didn’t know what to say. She had spent the last few years thinking she didn’t have a soulmate ― that Sasuke wasn’t her soulmate ― and now that she had proof that he was, she didn’t have a goddamn thing to say.

He just put his cuff back in place and proceed on helping her walk.

 _‘It’s all Sasuke-kun’s fault! He knew it all along and he didn’t say anything! He’s an idiot!’_ , her inner-self was shouting; she wanted to punch Sasuke so he could feel at least a bit of pain for making Sakura think she didn’t have someone.

But all Sakura could do was blush. Although she was really happy, she wanted to disappear. Sasuke, her soulmate, was holding her next to him. Her inner was screaming inside.

“You could’ve said something, you know,” Sakura stated, smiling shyly.

“Hn.”

“Don’t ‘hn’ me!” She exclaimed, pretending to be angry.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes. With a small smirk, he teased, “Annoying.”

**Author's Note:**

> I love soulmate aus, so there you have it. =)


End file.
